Fish....Brain Food!

   I was reading not too long ago where there are folks in Canada doing research on seafood and its effect on the brain.  The tests are mainly concerning whether seagulls eating garbage (and French fries from handouts) in the large cities are as smart as their counterparts along the coastal areas with their seafood diets.  On "intelligence" tests involving several methods of retrieving food, the coastal seagulls scored immensely higher than their citified cousins.  These studies are, of course, limited with sketchy results but could be compared (at least in theory) to the of studies of healthier diets in humans.  I guess the old sayings of "You are what you eat." and "Fish is brain food."  Seafood, barring that high in mercury, really helps in the long run.  Most cognitive tests run on humans are suggesting that diet has a lot to do with our brainpower.

  I was pondering that while on the pier the other morning.  A beautiful, healthy-looking seagull came to visit.  Here, it has been duly noted that the seagulls are cunning and can survive under the most dire situations.  They are a resilient sort and can outwit most of the other critters here.  They, along with the other fish-eating birds, have sharp minds.  It does not take any of these birds long to figure out how to open closed bait buckets or work together to attain a free meal from even would be predators.  

  After watching the seagulls and studying their habits, I figure the next time someone refers to me as a "birdbrain", I shall take it as a compliment, especially if my mental abilities are compared to those of a seagull.  So...folks...eat more seafood and fewer French fries!  

Just Paddlin' Along!

   As one might guess, I spend a lot of time on the pier.  It is one of the places that brings complete tranquility...there and the swamps.  It is while I am in these places that I find some of my best "friends"...those of the critter sort.  Yesterday's friend was a young seagull that seemed to be quite interested in my fishing bait.  Gulls have been known to steal a few of the menhaden that I use to catch my lunch or catch catfish for the crab pots.  This gull was just waiting for its chance!  So... to avoid snagging the gull in an attempt to pull my bait from its beak, I decided to just toss the bird a few minnows.  That would satisfy it and, thus, keep it safe.

  Before being fed, the bird sat on the post of my brother's pier.  Our piers are a short distance apart so the gull had a perfect "bird's eye view" of the happenings on our pier. Once I offered it the minnows, it came to visit then decided to fly southward over the water.  Instead of going back to the pier post, the goofy gull took a swim.  Yep, for the next hour, the gull paddled around like a duck.  It seemed to be one happy camper just floating on the water and never made an effort to find a perching spot.  This was the longest that I have witnessed a gull swim.  Those little webbed feet where getting a workout!  Its belly was full so now it could just paddle away the morning without a care in the world.

Seagull Sally

   Hanging around the pier, as of late, is a young seagull.  She is always begging for handouts even though the Bay is full of menhaden, shrimp and tiny mullet.  The bird should be able to fill her belly with ease just like the other gulls and terns but she simply sits on the post and waits for me to toss her a bait fish.  Then she grabs it, flies around the pier a couple of times and comes back for more.  At first, I thought perhaps she was injured which would cause her to be unable to dive.  This is not the case, however, as she does catch her own meals when we are not around.  She is just lazy. 

  With Tropical Storm/Hurricane Sally pressing in on us, it was an obvious choice to name the pier friend after the storm.  Now, Seagull Sally has officially been declared a bird to "be reckoned with".  She waits patiently each morning until just before dawn before starting to screech for breakfast.  After getting her fill, she then graciously allows me to photograph her.  In fact, the bird seems to pose and has taken a great interest in the camera.  Closeups are not a problem as she is more curious than scared.

  Hopefully, Seagull Sally will find safe harbor during the storm.  Perhaps she will fly further inland to some calmer place. After the storm passes, maybe Seagull Sally will come to visit again.  Be safe, Seagull Sally!  I will be waiting for you!  

Scavengers of the Bay

  I guess the old adage "desperate times call for desperate measures" rings true a good bit, here on the Bayou.  With the north winds of winter hitting the Bay, the tide is often far out from the shoreline.  This creates a problem for many of the shorebirds as the fish all move to deeper water.  Waders such as egrets and herons scavenge the tide pools while others such as pelicans and gulls usually just move with the fish. However, sometimes the gulls are just too lazy to go hunt for their food.  Gull are notorious thieves and will steal fish right from a pelicans bill or fight over some tidbit dropped by another bird.  They are not picky eaters and will gulp down anything that resembles a meal.  This morning's hike to the pier proved that bit about their selection of a meal.  It was not a pretty sight.

  As the old dog and I watched the few birds that remained on the mudflats, one lone seagull caught my eye.  This bird was not doing the normal diving that gulls are prone to do.  Instead, it was wading which is a rather unusual tactic for a gull.  I pondered what was attracting the gull to wade in knee-deep water when suddenly the bird darted for something under the water.  With its head still beneath the surface, the gull tugged for all its worth on something.  Then, up came the head, the bird gasped for breath and went back to work on its meal.  It was a bob and drag ordeal for several minutes before the bird managed to break free its quarry.   The bird was one happy camper with its....long dead fish.  Obviously, someone had recently cleaned fish and dropped the scrap remains overboard.  This is a practice of most local folks as the fish remains draw other fish, crabs and, obviously, birds.  The gull had been tugging on the long skin of one side of a pretty nice sized fish.  The remains of the fish were half buried in the sloppy mud and it was quite the strenuous ordeal for the gull to extricate the skin.  A good ten minute battle with the dead fish gave the gull its breakfast albeit a rotten one.  Like I said...gulls are not picky eaters.

Its Always A Good Day To Save A Life!

  Today was an all around good day here on the Bayou.  I was up long before dawn and managed to get the daily chores knocked out before the others were out of bed.  Then, just after daybreak, Mark and I headed to the pier.  We wanted to get in a little fishing early in the day.  Well, that morning fishing spread into an almost all day affair!  The fish were biting so we were not leaving!  Whenever we can get enough, we share the cleaned fish with a lot of the elderly folks in the neighborhood.  We have done this for years and have no plans to stop any time soon.  The morning's fishing went smoothly but during late afternoon things went a bit haywire. 

  I had just returned to the pier from the Little Bayou House, when I got the surprise of the day. While Mark was on the phone with Darling Daughter, Elizabeth, a seagull dove down next to the pier to retrieve a discarded bait.  When the bird tried to fly back up, it became quite entangled in my fishing line.  The more the poor bird struggled, the more it became tangled.  There was only one thing to do. I gently reeled the bird closer to the pier and reached down to grab it.  Ok, so those beautiful birds are a bit feisty!  Being terrified of the monster that had entrapped it, the seagull did the one thing that came natural.  It tried to peck me.  I managed to get the bird on the pier and Mark used a bit of quick thinking to come to my rescue.  He placed the small minnow net over the bird's head!  This allowed me to work on the bird without getting ripped to pieces by that sharp beak.  

  At first, the seagull was terrified but it settled down as soon as it realized that I was trying to help it.  I flipped the bird this way and that as I untangled the mess of line.  It took only a few moments before I had my new friend free from a certain death.  That sweet bird would live to see another day!

  I learned several things from this experience.  One..seagulls weigh practically nothing and two..birds do recognize kindness when it is offered.  This poor bird had already been through the mill.  I noticed when unwrapping the line that somehow, the bird had previously been injured.  Although it was completely healed, the bird was missing a foot.  Poor thing!  

  I am thankful for the fish we caught today.  I am thankful that we are able to share our bounty.  I am thankful that the bird was freed.  AND  I am thankful that while I was untangling the bird, no fish tried to take the bait that was on the end of that line!  Had I gotten a bite on the line that was tangled about the bird, the poor seagull would have been mangled.  But all is well that ends well and overall it was a grand day on the Bayou!

Happy Birthday, Mark!